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Faith

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. – Hebrews 11:8 (NLT)

Have you ever asked the question, “Are we there yet?” It is the famous family road trip question. Every family has experienced this amazing, non-stop inquiry in one form or fashion. It is a childlike phrase of frustration. You want to get there. Even if you don’t know where there is…you want to be there. It is exciting and at the same time it is exhausting. You are waiting and waiting and…are we there yet? The question is ok the first 20 times…then it gets…well…annoying. It is Donkey’s favorite question in the movie Shrek 2, as he, Shrek and Fiona are traveling to Far, Far Away Land. Repeatedly Donkey interrogated them on the proximity of their destination with a tiny, little, bothersome four worded question, “Are we there yet?” Donkey wouldn’t stop annoying them until Shrek finally says, “Yes.” Donkey yells out, “Really?” Shrek answers, “NO!”

Are we there yet?

Have you ever asked God, “Are we there yet?” I am sure you have. Many, many times throughout our journey in life we do what kids do to their parents in the car, we ask God the same question over and over again, “Are we there yet?” Why do we do that? Because we want to know where we are and when we will get there, and truthfully we don’t like one major part in this thing called: waiting to get there. No one likes waiting. Why can’t we just get Scotty (for the Star Trek fans) to instantly beam us from our house to wherever we are going…right now? If we can work out a deal where we can just get there as quickly as possible with no lines, no traffic, no congestion, no waiting…just boom and we are there…that would be nice. Sometimes we ask nicely yet demandingly, “Hey God, can you get me a fast pass to the front of the line. I don’t like waiting.“

Are we there yet?

Waiting is the place where we learn this rather strange thing that is contrary to our human nature called patience. Patience is the place where we learn to endure what is uncomfortable with self-control and a good attitude. In other words, I could go off right now and lose my temper, but that would not be fruitful or helpful, so instead I will wait with a smile (you can do it) and pray until something happens (P.U.S.H.). Patience is listed as a part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5. The Bible reveals to us that patience is an inward working of the Holy Spirit that leads me to a definite personal choice that I will wait as long as God wants me to wait. And in that process, although sometimes it might be long, I learn the treasures and the measures and the pleasures of waiting. Patience escorts me to a dimension in God where I become as James said, “perfect (mature), entire and wanting nothing.” That is the place where you come to say: it’s might have been difficult to bear, but it’s worth it all.

Are we there yet?

Imagine you are Abraham in the book of Genesis. You are in your comfort zone. You are living your life. You are quite successful in your field of work. In fact you are the wealthiest person in the country. You have a beautiful wife. You are close to your family. You could say that life is pretty good and that is when God shows up. Let me tell you something about when God shows up. When God shows up anything can happen because you have entered the dimension where everything is possible. When God shows up your life changes…for the better. God did not intend for your life to be just pretty good. His desire, before you were born, is that your life would be abundant and overflowing with greatness. You were born for more than just existing as another being on the planet. You have a purpose. When you are living at a level that is under your purpose, oftentimes, that is when God shows up. He will never be satisfied with mediocre or mundane for your life and neither should you. The beautiful thing is He doesn’t show up to smack you around and tell you that you are missing it. God shows up to nudge you toward greatness.

Are we there yet?

Imagine you are Abraham living a pretty good life and God arrives to introduce you to something greater and better and stranger than anything you could ever imagine. God says, “Abe, here is what I want you to do. Get your wife. Pack your stuff. Hop on the camels. I am going to bless you. I am going to multiply you. I am giving you a land for your inheritance. A new nation is going to be birthed out of you. It’s going to be so cool. So, go.” Abraham says, “Sounds good, God. I will do it.” And that is when God drops the bomb, “Oh yeah! One more thing. I am NOT going to tell you where you are going, just believe me and go.” What? This is wonderful and terrible at the same time. Blessings. Multiplying. Inheritance. Nations. Cool! But God wants me to pack all of my stuff and go out without knowing where I am going? No map. No GPS. No road signs. Just go!

Are we there yet?

The Bible reveals to us that “by faith Abraham obeyed.” This is the wildest, craziest kind of faith that one can have. This is the type of faith that pleases God. Abraham went. He did it. He obeyed God’s word even though he didn’t understand it. This was the very moment that Abraham’s life moved from being pretty good to exceeding abundantly, above all that you could ask, think or dream. Get this: in the going was the blessing. When he decided to depart that is when he got a new start. There was a long journey ahead of him. In fact many years, fears and tears were in front of him, but it was in the first step out of the comfort zone that the blessing of God rested on his life. He was going to ask God the question, “Are we there yet?,” a million times along the way, but he had to make a personal choice in every step of the journey that I will wait as long as God wants me to wait. I will not lose heart. I will not give in or give up, even if I don’t know where I am going. God knows. He is already there. So my stance is, I will wait patiently by faith because I know that God is ushering me into a greater place, according to His original intention for my life.

Are we there yet?

The encouragement for you is this: You might not know all the details of the journey you are on (all of your starts and stops, all of your opportunities and oppositions), but know that patience and faith are the things that are going to not only get you through, but also get you there, especially when you are asking the question at hand, “Are we there yet?”

Personally: In what areas in your life do you struggle with patience? (Confide)

Practically: Today, what one thing can you do to be more patient with someone or something that you are dealing with in your life? (Decide)

Prayerfully: Father God, I ask you today to give me the type of patience that Abraham had. I know you are here to help me not just to get through it, but, like Abraham, to get to what you have ordained for my life. I want to, without hesitation, obey you by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen! (Applied)